In Defense of Reality

There are some things in life that are true only because we (individually, and a society) choose for them to exist as they are. There are other things in the universe which are actually true. Millenia ago, everything fell into the latter category. Today, in the post-modern world, those who follow the religious viewpoints (even if they call themselves reasonable agnostics) of the former. The problem is that neither of these viewpoints is correct, and jumping from one extreme on the pendulum to the other has helped no one.

Earlier worldviews accepted that all truths were immutable. Today godless crew accept the viewpoint that there is no truth, only perception.

Part of my explanation involves this visual. On the left side I classify truths that are not dependent on us recognizing them, things which are true regardless of whether we know them. This includes things which are physically verifiable (to humans) and things which are currently not. Our understanding of which classification truth fits in may change as our understandings change, but these categories are eternal.

An example of eternal truth, not physically verifiable is that God Exists. I cannot prove to you that God Exists. I have had experiences which have given me reason to believe (faith) that He Exists. But he would continue to Exist (capitalized because it is a sacred verb), even if you or I refuse to acknowledge it.

An example of eternal, physically verifiable truth, is that neon absorbs light at 632 nm (at least in our area of the Universe). I have had experiences which have given me knowledge, that Neon absorbs red light. I can physically prove that to you, but it still absorbs light there, even if you or I don’t recognize that.

An example of metastable (non-eternal), physically verifiable truth, is that some Jewish survivors perceive LDS proxy baptisms as “offensive”. We could take a survey of every person on the planet to “prove” this. But it is not an eternal truth, it currently exists, dependent on the contrivings of people with an ax to grind: 1) A silly ex-Mormon with literally nothing better to do with her time (Helen Radkey), 2) Silly Jewish groups who somehow claim to speak the will of the dead, 3) News organizations whose existence depends on the outright fabrication and misrepresentation of “the facts” all calling it “news fit to print”. In the end, these fabrications and contrived representations will be removed, and will look as ghastly as the ghosts in the presence of Real Truth in CS Lewis’s “The Great Divorce”.

An example of a metastable, physically unverifiable truth is those things which I think, feel, and what my motivations are. No one, least of all an intelligence-starved liberal, can know what I think, feel, or why I do what I do. It’s not a verifiable truth. But I can know it.

All truth exists within its own realm, yet it all exists around us today. Each of us will have to do their best to put up with the genre of these truths. You may not like the rules about the genre, but you don’t get to choose them. And their existence doesn’t depend on you recognizing them. My admonition is to place your faith in the eternal truths, and recognize the meta-stable truths only as necessary. Those who choose to make the meta-stable truths generally go insane, while those who ignore the eternal truths find that Eternal Truth can be a hard opponent to ignore.